Public education in Connecticut

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K-12 education in Connecticut

Education facts

State superintendent: Charlene Russell-Tucker

Number of students: 486,990

Number of teachers: 39,049

Teacher/pupil ratio: 1:12

Number of school districts: 169

Number of schools: 935

Graduation rate: 89%

Per-pupil spending: $21,346

See also

Connecticut Department of Education • List of school districts in Connecticut • Connecticut • School boards portal

Public education in the United States Public education in Connecticut Glossary of education terms

Note: These statistics are mainly from government sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. Figures given were the most recent as of October 2022.

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Note: The statistics on this page are mainly from government sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. Figures given were the most recent available as of June 2015, with school years noted in the text or footnotes.

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The Connecticut public school system (prekindergarten-grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2012 Connecticut had 554,437 students enrolled in a total of 1,150 schools in 200 school districts. There were 43,805 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 13 students, compared to the national average of 1:16. There is roughly one administrator for every 252 students, compared to the national average of one administrator for every 295 students. On average Connecticut spent $15,600 per pupil in 2011, which ranks it seventh highest in the nation. The state's graduation rate was 85 percent in 2012.

State agencies

State Education Departments

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See also

Connecticut Commissioner of Education List of school districts in Connecticut Public education in Connecticut School board elections portal

The Connecticut State Department of Education serves as the "administrative arm of the Connecticut State Board of Education." The Department of Education distributes funds to the state's school districts.

The Connecticut Commissioner of Education is the executive officer of the Department of Education. The Commissioner is recommended by the State Board of Education and appointed by the governor to four-year terms. The current Commissioner of Education is Stefan Pryor.

The State Board of Education is comprised of 13 members.

• At least two members must have experience in manufacturing or a trade offered through the Technical High School System.
• One must have a background in vocational agriculture.
• Two must be nonvoting Grade 12 student members.

Voting members of the board serve four-year terms, while the nonvoting student members serve one-year terms. The Commissioner of Education serves as an ex officio member of the board. All members are appointed by the governor.

Common Core

Common Core, or the Common Core State Standards Initiative, is an American education initiative that outlines quantifiable benchmarks in English and mathematics at each grade level from kindergarten through high school. The Connecticut State Board of Education adopted the standards on July 7, 2010. Full implementation was set to be achieved in the 2013-2014 academic year.

In September 2014 Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy (D) wrote a public letter to the U.S. Department of Education requesting that 11th-grade students not be required to take a Common Core-aligned statewide standardized test. Malloy argued that high school juniors in Connecticut already take multiple standardized exams, such as the ACT and SAT, and claimed that those students are "overtested." This letter came after a June 2014 announcement that, in order to support implementation of the Common Core, Connecticut schools needed to spend an additional $15 million. Despite these statements, there had been no significant changes to Common Core implementation in the state as of July 2015.

Regional comparison

See also: General comparison table for education statistics in the 50 states

See also: Education spending per pupil in all 50 states

The following chart shows how Connecticut compares to three neighboring states with respect to number of students, schools, the number of teachers per pupil, and the number of administrators per pupil. Further comparisons between these states with respect to performance and financial information are given in other sections of this page.

Regional comparison
State	Schools	Districts	Students	Teachers	Teacher/pupil ratio	Administrator/pupil ratio	Per pupil spending
Connecticut	1,150	200	554,437	43,805	1:12.7	1:252.1	$15,600
Massachusetts	1,835	401	953,369	69,342	1:13.7	1:210.1	$13,941
New Hampshire	477	281	191,900	15,049	1:12.8	1:349.6	$13,224
Rhode Island	308	54	142,854	11,414	1:12.5	1:316.8	$13,815
United States	98,328	17,992	49,521,669	3,103,263	1:16	1:295.2	$10,994
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Public Elementary/Secondary Education Survey", 2011-12 v.1a. National Center for Education Statistics, Table 2. Number of operating public schools and districts, state enrollment, teacher and pupil/teacher ratio by state: School year 2011–12 U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2011,Governments Division Reports," issued May 2013

Demographics

See also: Demographic information for all students in all 50 states

The following table displays the ethnic distribution of students in Connecticut as reported in the Common Core of Data for 2011-2012.

Demographic information for Connecticut's K-12 public school system
Ethnicity	Students	State Percentage	United States Percentage**
American Indian	1,923	0.35%	1.10%
Asian	24,546	4.43%	4.68%
African American	72,122	13.01%	15.68%
Hawaiian Nat./Pacific Isl. Students	373	0.07%	0.42%
Hispanic	108,165	19.51%	24.37%
White	337,489	60.87%	51.21%
Two or more	9,819	1.77%	2.54%
**Note: This is the percentage of all students in the United States that are reported to be of this ethnicity.

Enrollments by region type

See also: Student distribution by region type in the U.S.

A majority of students in Connecticut attend suburban schools. Nearly 82 percent of the state's students attend city or suburban schools, compared to approximately 18 percent who attend rural or town schools.

Student distribution by region type, 2011 - 2012 (as percents)
State	City schools	Suburban schools	Town schools	Rural schools
Connecticut	28.1%	53.7%	4%	14.2%
Massachusetts	20.8%	66.1%	2.2%	11%
New Hampshire	14.4%	31.8%	16.3%	37.5%
Rhode Island	31.4%	54.4%	2.4%	11.9%
U.S. average	28.9%	34%	11.6%	25.4%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD)

Academic performance

Education terms
For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

NAEP scores

See also: NAEP scores by state

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Compared to three neighboring states (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island), Connecticut had the second smallest share of fourth and eighth grade students who scored at or above proficient in both math and reading.

Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013
	Math - Grade 4	Math - Grade 8	Reading - Grade 4	Reading - Grade 8
Connecticut	45	37	43	45
Massachusetts	58	55	47	48
New Hampshire	59	47	45	44
Rhode Island	42	36	38	36
U.S. average	41	34	34	34
Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014

NAEP assessment data for all students 2012-2013
<pbars size=500x300 title="" grid=true ymin=0 ymax=100 legend colorscheme=excel> ,Math - Grade 4,Math - Grade 8,Reading - Grade 4, Reading - Grade 8 CT,45,37,43,45 MA,58,55,47,48 NH,59,47,45,44 RI,42,36,38,36 U.S. average,41,34,34,34 </pbars>

Graduation, ACT and SAT scores

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state

See also: ACT and SAT scores in the U.S.

The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Connecticut and surrounding states.

Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores*
State	Graduation rate, 2012		Average ACT Composite, 2012		Average SAT Composite, 2013
	Percent	Quintile ranking**	Score	Participation rate	Score	Participation rate
Connecticut	85%	Second	23.8	27%	1,532	85%
Massachusetts	85%	Second	24.1	23%	1,553	83%
New Hampshire	86%	First	23.8	19%	1,567	70%
Rhode Island	77%	Fourth	22.9	13%	1,468	72%
U.S. average	80%		21.1		1,498
*Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Rate (except for Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma, which did not report “Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate,” but instead used their own method of calculation). **Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express

Dropout rate

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades 9–12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–11 and school year 2011–12. The event dropout rate for Connecticut was lower than the national average at 1.9 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 2.1 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.

Educational choice options

See also: School choice in Connecticut

School choice options in Connecticut include: charter schools, inter-district and intra-district open enrollment policies and some online learning programs. In addition, about 10.89 percent of school age children in the state attended private schools in the 2011-12 academic year, and an estimated 2.67 percent were homeschooled in 2012-13.

Education funding and expenditures

See also: Connecticut state budget

Breakdown of expenditures by function in FY 2012.
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), the state spent approximately 13.9 percent of its fiscal year 2012 budget on elementary and secondary education. As a share of the budget, this is down 1.3 percentage points, or 8.6 percent, from fiscal year 2008, when the state spent 15.2 percent of its budget on elementary and secondary education.

Comparison of financial figures for school systems
State	Percent of budget (2012)	Per pupil spending (2011)	Revenue sources (2011)
			Percent federal funds	Percent state funds	Percent local funds
Connecticut	13.9%	$15,600	8.27%	33.65%	58.09%
Massachusetts	10.7%	$13,941	7.85%	37.91%	54.24%
New Hampshire	19.7%	$13,224	6.49%	37.29%	56.21%
Rhode Island	14.2%	$13,815	10.76%	36.53%	52.72%
Sources: NASBO, "State Expenditure Report," Table 8: Elementary and Secondary Education Expenditures As a Percent of Total Expenditures U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2011,Governments Division Reports," issued May 2013

Revenue breakdowns

See also: Public school system revenues in the U.S. to compare all states.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system revenues in Connecticut totaled approximately $9.7 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table and chart below present further detail, including revenue sources, for Connecticut and surrounding states.

Revenues by source, FY 2011 (amounts in thousands)
	Federal revenue	State revenue	Local revenue	Total revenue
Connecticut	$799,526	$3,254,757	$5,618,933	$9,673,216
Massachusetts	$1,197,383	$5,783,240	$8,275,257	$15,255,880
New Hampshire	$184,768	$1,061,011	$1,599,416	$2,845,195
Rhode Island	$244,530	$830,220	$1,198,254	$2,273,004
U.S. total	$74,943,767	$267,762,416	$264,550,594	$607,256,777
Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Public school revenues by source, FY 2011 (as percents)
<pbars size=500x300 title="" grid=true ymin=0 ymax=100 legend colorscheme=excel> ,Federal revenue,State revenue,Local revenue CT,8.27,33.65,58.09 MA,7.85,37.91,54.24 NH,6.49,37.29,56.21 RI,10.76,36.53,52.72 U.S. total,12.34,44.09,43.56 </pbars>

Expenditure breakdowns

See also: Public school system expenditures in the U.S.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system expenditures in Connecticut totaled approximately $9.3 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table and chart below present further detail, including expenditure types, for Connecticut and surrounding states.

Expenditures by type, FY 2011 (amounts in thousands)
	Current expenditures**	Capital outlay	Other***	Total expenditures
Connecticut	$8,367,518	$533,188	$404,820	$9,305,526
Massachusetts	$12,894,969	$817,228	$767,052	$14,479,249
New Hampshire	$2,502,899	$206,241	$129,038	$2,838,178
Rhode Island	$2,059,636	$47,973	$198,338	$2,305,947
U.S. total	$520,577,893	$52,984,139	$29,581,293	$603,143,325
**Funds spent operating local public schools and local education agencies, including such expenses as salaries for school personnel, student transportation, school books and materials, and energy costs, but excluding capital outlay, interest on school debt, payments to private schools, and payments to public charter schools. ***Includes payments to state and local governments, payments to private schools, interest on school system indebtedness, and nonelementary-secondary expenditures, such as adult education and community services expenditures. Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Public school expenditures, FY 2011 (as percents)
<pbars size=500x300 title="" grid=true ymin=0 ymax=100 legend colorscheme=excel> ,Current expenditures,Capital outlay,Other CT,89.92,5.73,4.35 MA,89.06,5.64,5.30 NH,88.19,7.27,4.55 RI,89.32,2.08,8.60 U.S. total,86.31,8.78,4.90 </pbars>

Personnel salaries

See also: Public school teacher salaries in the U.S.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average national salary for classroom teachers in public elementary and secondary schools has declined by 1.3 percent from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. During the same period in Connecticut, the average salary decreased by 1.4 percent.

Estimated average salaries for teachers (in constant dollars**)
	1999-2000	2009-2010	2011-2012	2012-2013	Percent difference
Connecticut	$70,762	$68,690	$70,621	$69,766	-1.4%
Massachusetts	$63,656	$73,945	$72,915	$73,129	14.9%
New Hampshire	$51,567	$54,912	$55,079	$55,599	7.8%
Rhode Island	$64,286	$63,711	$63,221	$63,474	-1.3%
U.S. average	$57,133	$58,925	$56,340	$56,383	-1.3%
**"Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis. The CPI does not account for differences in inflation rates from state to state."

Organizations

Unions

In 2012 the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now assessed the power and influence of state teacher unions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their rankings were based on 37 different variables in five broad areas, including: resources and membership, involvement in politics, scope of bargaining, state policies and perceived influence. Connecticut ranked 17th overall, or "strong," which was in the second of five tiers.

The main unions related to the Connecticut school system are the Connecticut Education Association (CEA), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), and AFT Connecticut, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. For the 2003 tax period, CEA had: $16.56 million in total revenue, $12.45 million in total expenses and $32.22 million in total assets. For the same period, AFT Connecticut had: $4.36 million in total revenue, $4.53 million in total expenses and $3.75 million in total assets.

The teacher unions have repeatedly brought the "Project Opening Doors" program to court for offering financial incentives for passing AP tests to students and teachers.

List of local Connecticut school unions:

• Connecticut Education Association
• AFT Connecticut
• Norwalk Federation Of Teachers
• West Hartford Education Association
• New Haven Federation of Teachers
• AFT Local 4200
• Hartford Federation of Teachers, Local 1018

Taxpayer-funded lobbying

See also: Connecticut government sector lobbying

The main education government sector lobbying organization is the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education and the Connecticut Association of School Personnel Administrators.

Education ballot measures

See also: Education on the ballot and List of Connecticut ballot measures

Studies and reports

State Budget Solutions education study

See also: State spending on education v. academic performance (2012)

State Budget Solutions examined national trends in education from 2009 to 2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates and average ACT scores. The study showed that the states that spent the most did not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor did they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. The full report can be accessed here.

See also

• Connecticut state budget
• Connecticut Department of Education
• Connecticut school districts
• Connecticut
• Education Policy in the U.S.

External links

• Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE)
• Connecticut State Board of Education
• Connecticut School Choice (CSDE)
• Connecticut School and District Data (CSDE)
• Connecticut Education Staff Data and Salaries (CSDE)
• Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium
• Connecticut Virtual Learning Center